November 15, 2012

February 22, 2012

A pillar of Mitt Romney’s claim not to be a shape-shifter on the abortion question is his insistence that he never called himself pro-choice. “I never called myself pro-choice,” he told Fox News in 2008. “I never allowed myself to use the word 'pro-choice' because I didn't feel I was pro-choice. I would protect the law, I said, as it was, but I wasn't pro-choice.” In a 2007 presidential debate Romney challenged his opponents to prove him a liar: “You can go back to YouTube and look at what I said in 1994.

December 02, 2011

Wow. Every day this week, it seems, has brought more proof of Huntsmania on the march. We had polling in New Hampshire showing him cracking double digits, a quasi-endorsement from the Boston Herald, another eye-opening boost from his daughters, and now...an explicit plea for a Huntsman third-party candidacy, from none other than that doyenne of Republican moderation, Christie Todd Whitman. Take it away, Politico:
“I would hope he would do it, frankly.

November 30, 2011

Huntsmania is on the loose. Just in the past day, Jon Jr. has cracked double-digits in New Hampshire, further fueled speculation of a third-party run if he does not get the Republican nomination and now received an all-but endorsement from the editor of the Boston Herald's editorial page. The piece is titled "The Smartest Guy You've Never Heard Of" and concludes on this note:
Wonky? Sure, but in a spontaneous, unprogrammed way. No handler ever put words in this guy’s mouth. Which indeed gets back to that original question: Why haven’t we heard of this guy?

September 14, 2011

Few things are more grating to the proud people of Massachusetts than claiming to understand their worldview on the basis of a few Good Will Hunting quotes. Still, even the most jaded Bay Staters should admit that sometimes a dose of Ben Affleck helps to clarify things.

March 26, 2008

When Bill Buckley died last week, the assistant to a famous New York editor phoned. ”I’m so sorry,” she said softly. ”I know it must be very sad and chaotic over there.” I was a bit befuddled by her description of the office, which didn’t seem any less ebullient than usual. ”Yes, it’s quite chaotic,” I fumbled. Apparently misinterpreting my confusion for sorrow, she asked, ”Can you help my boss get into the memorial service?”
She had, of course, committed a common opinion-journalism faux pas, the same one that the Boston Herald repeated with its obituary headline, WILLIAM F.